There are loads of links on here Zoe re self publishing and POD (techncially there is a difference) as several members, including my own sweet self have gone down this route. The reasons are many and varied, but mainly because I did have the time to wait for my book to be picked up, and also becsuse I wanted more control over the finished product, marketing plans etc than a mainstream publisher would most likely have given me.
I chose the POD route, since I did not have a warehouse the size of Wembley Arena in which to store thousands of books, it was definately the right choice for me. When I got my second royalty cheque this morning and started to add up the books I have sold in the last 7 months since publication, it must by now be well over 100, which is not too bad. Most POD books from what I gather struggle to sell even this amount.
The things I like best about it is the fact that it is so easy to make changes to the book (I am currerntly in the process of changing the cover), it is environmentally friendly, and also the fact the book is never out of print. As long as you pay your annual fee (around £20) for the printer to continue storing your files, that is.
I chose a small publisher based in Bedfordshire, here in the UK, called Authors OnLine. They were actually the first POD publisher in the UK, and from what I have heard, are still the best. Their costs were very reasonable at around £1200, and for that I got the entire book (some 120,000 words) proof read, bespoke cover design, library deposits, website prescence on both the publishers own site and all amazon sites US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, China, Japan), and also formatiing into an e-book, which is handy for anyone living overseas who wishes to save postage.
It has been very hard work, but is very rewarding. I have managed to get the book into several stores - Borders are now stocking it on a national basis, and also my local Waterstones in Epsom, Surrey, plus the Chalice Well bok shop in Glastonbury. I get postcards and magnets printed by VistaPrint when they offers and distribute them to various churches etc that I know and go to, and give the magnets away as freebies - they make great gifts.
By far the majority of my sales though have been via talks at various local groups. I have also doen the odd psychic fare type thing, and am booked to do my first craft fair as well at the end of May. Once I start editing the local newsletter in June (they have offered me a free advert in return for my services) then that should certainly help. At the moment I am waiting the WI (womens institute) to call me for an audition so that I can become one of their approved speakers.
There are lots of things you can do though, and really the sky's the limit. It is up to you how much effort you want to put in, and some things will work better than others. You just though make a note of what doesn't work and either do things differently next time or learn from it and try something else.
There are other articles as well on my website if you want to have a look. I am sure others will add to this thread as well though.
June
